This I Believe: Kayla Doyle, Harrison

Over the past month, west central Indiana high school seniors have been putting their viewpoints into words for an essay contest titled “This I Believe.” From nearly 70 entries, judges selected 10 submissions, which will be recognized and showcased in a number of ways. The students will read their essays on WBAA, the Lafayette Daybreak Rotary Club will provide a $100 scholarship to each of the selected authors and the Journal & Courier will feature each author’s essay online at jconline.com and in the newspaper. On March 17, Barnes & Noble will host a reception where the authors will read their essays.

Today’s selection:

Be your own best friend

Being alone seems like a terrifying thought. The word “lonely” can have many different meanings. Isolation, boredom and overthinking are a few common words that I associate with the thought of being alone. I believe even though it is easy to dread, alone time is extremely beneficial.

Spending time without others around me used to seem like the worst thing that could happen. I dreaded the idea of being alone with my own thoughts. I used to spend most of my time surrounded by people, constantly. I relied on others to distract me from the feeling of loneliness. I did not know what to do if someone was not there to hold my hand through life. I had to learn that it is okay to hold your own hand. I needed to learn to be my own best friend.

It is important to love others and to have people who you can rely on, but these things are hard to do if you cannot love yourself first. If you would not want to be your own friend, than why would someone else? Being someone I would want to be friends with is how I strive to live my life. It used to be easy for me to put on a fake smile or pretend to be someone I am not, because I did not like who I was. I thought I was a good person, but I did not love myself quite yet. After spending time with my own thoughts and figuring out where I wanted to be in my life, I found myself laughing and genuinely smiling more.

Even though spending time with myself seemed like a scary thought, I was able to learn more about myself. I became more independent and was able to be more productive each day. I found myself creating new goals, big or small, that I wanted to complete in the future. As time went on I realized I was becoming more comfortable with myself. It started to feel normal to be alone. I even started to look forward to being alone because I knew I would be able to work on myself and find my purpose.

I believe that being alone is rewarding. I believe in finding strength within myself to complete my own goals and dreams. I believe in being my own best friend.

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